2009 : A Review in Pictures

Wow, another year comes to an end. 2009 has been a really great year for me. I travelled far and wide this year and I remind myself to count my blessings everytime I take a look back at all the things I've gone through. Every little incident has in someway shaped my character and I wouldn't go back to change a single thing.

As I was assembling photos and picking out one for every month, choosing one above the rest for its significance, I reflect on all I've experienced in the past year and see how much I have grown physically and mentally. I may have 40GBs of photos in 2009 alone. But each and everyone of them captures a specific moment and freezes it in time and are thus unique. Just like how this blog is a way for me to record my thoughts and opinions and memories.

Note:
1. No photos were taken in the month of March.
2. 4 photos are featured for July.

January | with Mei Zhi & Karen, Teluk Bahang



February | Farah, Kairi & me, Cameron Highlands



April | in college with Jo & Sophia (this is the ONLY photo I took in April)



May | post-studio crit, Sunway Pyramid



June | at the Jelutong Expressway jetty



July | just outside Field Museum, Chicago



July | with Jayme by the Chicago Riverside infront of Betrand Goldberg's Marina Towers and Mies Van Der Rohe's 330 Wabash



July | on the Millenium park pedestrian bridge, Chicago



July | Jayme and me overlooking Mount Rainier, Washington State



August | in Penang with college friends on class trip, SXI field



September | May, in front of Kapitan Keling Mosque



October | lost, somewhere in Tokyo



November | revising Project Management in college



December | picnic, Kepong

I sincerely hope you've all had an amazing year as I did. I wish 2010 brings as much fun as 2009 did. And maybe more.

Happy New Year to all.
Goodnight, Travel Well.

Stay tuned for next year.

Annoying People on Facebook

Let's face it. Nearly every single person whom you know has a facebook account and probably even some others whom you don't know at all but nevertheless 'added you as a friend' for reasons unknown. Facebook is a blessing and curse for social communication and it's funny how it has exploded into our lives and has manipulated many to spend hours and hours being virtually unproductive in 'farmville' or 'restaurant city'.

I'm glad that I'm probably one of the few still unaddicted to facebook. And I do mildly smirk at those who are constantly logged in to the website. Everyday, everyday. Even when they're on holiday. Give it a rest for god's sake. And what's even more interesting are the people who start to measure time using the length they spend away from Facebook. "OMG, I haven't logged into Fb in 2 WHOLE DAYS!!!"

I may sound bitter, but you know I'm just speaking what's already probably in your mind. Here are 14 more people who annoy me and you on Facebook:

Sourced from GQ.com


Stay tuned for more.

Snapshot: Penang

2:39pm | Patterned shadows on the asphalt, Kelawei Rd.

Stay tuned for more.

Happy Christmas

From the archives | December 06'

Stay tuned for more.

Snapshot: Penang

red ant | Somewhere in Balik Pulau

Stay tuned for more.

Go Watch This: Zombieland

I usually shun from planning to watch the big blockbuster movies because I tend to get called out by my friends to watch them. So I'll end up watching them anyway. Instead, I prefer planning to watch the smaller underrated movies on our Penang Island/Malaysian shores. Like how I had to convince some of my friends to watch the awesome comedy 'I Love You, Man' earlier this year. And this time around, it is the horror comedy 'Zombieland' which I've been planning to watch ever since the movie poster was released.

I watched the movie yesterday with Zhi Xiang, and emerged from the cinema with a smile plastered on my face. It's one of those movies which went beyond my expectations.

How often do you get an awesome movie in the horror-comedy genre. Well, it was more comedy than horror. As suggested, the movie revolves around 4 characters who have managed to survive in a world overrun by zombies and have their own ways and rules of survival. Great casting, with each character having their own charm, an awesome cameo in the movie and a fresh take on perspective. I shall say no more to avoid compromising your enjoyment, should you decide to watch it.

And there are rumours of a sequel!

Stay tuned for more, and go watch this movie.

Bubble Calendar

Check out this cool bubble wrap calendar. With one bubble to pop each day. Genius! Cool item for a gift!

Get it here
They probably have one for 2010.


Stay tuned for more stuff.

Snapshot: Penang

red car | Armenian St, Georgetown

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Reversible

I think this shirt is really innovative. It would have been your regular run-of-the-mill white shirt had it not been for the fact that there are 2 collars and 4 sleeves. It's a double sided shirt where you wear it like you would a normal shirt except there are 2 sleeves dangling at your waist and you just have to tie them. You can also reverse the thing and wear the other side. But it will probably be more interesting if it wasn't all white. Maybe a dip-dyed gradient?


Stay tuned for more.

Disappointment.

Results came out this week. And I'm very VERY displeased with myself. My abysmal performance this past semester can only be attributed to my lack in attention to detail and a terrible progress rate.

Another semester, another disappointment.

But in a couple of weeks, a new semester begins. And my last one in KL.

Casual wonderment.

One week into my internship and I'm finding myself questioning the idea of how casual can I go without ending up looking like I'm the hired help who clean offices. How can I not ask myself this when some of the really talented workers look more 'morning-jogger-by-the-beach' than 'educated-professional-worker.'

I do know that in the creative field, most people tend to dress down a little compared to people working in say, management and finance. Dressing down to me probably means a basic shirt, slacks, belt and leather shoes combo, sans tie unless there are meetings. But I didn't expect that they would dress way WAAAAAY down. I mean t-shirts, cargo pants and sweats?! Is that even possible? I didn't even considered polo tees to be office appropriate let alone t-shirts. Might as well wear beach attire. Oh wait, I think I did spot some flip flops around.

- Dress up?


- Or Dress down?

So my question is what should I wear to work? Should I conform to the rules of comfort over impression and risk looking like a tantric yoga student, or should I step it up and do the full on crease-less ironed shirt, impeccable slacks and spotless leather shoes?

poll by twiigs.com

Stay tuned for more.

Nit Picknicking

This time around, our end-of-the-semester picnic took us all the way to Kepong, a place once unfamiliar to me; And still very foreign because a few wrong turns took me all the way to Sg. Buloh (Don't ask).

I can say that we are getting better at this picnic thing. I remember we forgot to bring cutlery for our first one and how I got really sunburnt in the second. This one went pretty smoothly. We we're fully equipped and it took us only 2 days to plan it out. It may have been drizzling, but that made the weather cool enough to sit comfortably outdoors without getting drenched. Food was ample and perfect. And I know we had a really good time.

- hyper even before the food gets flowing



- distributing glorious food



- pink floormat



- Sophia & Farah's chicken caesar salad complimented well with my vegetarian penne



- And then, Monopoly started



- I. Don't. Know. Why.



- By the lake. Yes there was a lake.



- The new mafia.

Stay tuned for more.

Update

The semester is over, and I've left PJ.

I'm back home for a month.

I'm doing my internship with a local firm.

Unpaid.

Nice office.

Close to home.

I'm happy.


Stay tuned for more.

Crit shots

Pictures from Crit day!

- me, my model, my 75 ringgit presentation board(top) and my portfolio.



- "Yes, you're absolutely right, I say his presentation is so horrid that I want to throw up everywhere"
"Even here on my chin?"
"Yes, even there"



- "I wanted my design to...BOOMZ"



- The last crappy shots of my model because I only finished it at 1am and was too tired and totally forgot about photographing it and only got these shots in studio before submitting it.



- It was quite bitchy to construct the truss from balsa wood, but I like the end product. If I can't get the whole model back, I don't mind just getting that part.

Stay tuned for more.